Filling in for Beth this weekend...here's what caught my attention recently (many of the links came from Abnormal Returns, one of the best curators out there for interesting financial news!): 

• Unemployment is hovering around 4%...when are we going to see some wage gains? 
• Let's get philosophical: How should you be thinking about time? Another thought-provoking piece from Dollars and Data. 
• I couldn't agree more with this article espousing the virtues of a summer job. Waking up early on Sat/Sun mornings to caddie to pay for college taught me something...Great to see Jump$tart's Laura Levine quoted in the article. 
• Young people learn by doing..so how can we give them investing experience at a young age that will encourage lifelong habits?
• Bloomberg takes critical view of target-date funds, which have grown to point where 50% of retirement accountholders at Vanguard have all of their assets in one of these funds. My advice: look to see what's under the hood, some TDFs are high cost. Vanguard's are not. 
• Before you think about buying that new car, you better understand how SUVs can be killing your retirement savings. 
• This chart will get you to think twice about real estate ("your home") being a great investment opportunity over the long-term (only 0.3% annual real return in U.S.) :

• How about applying the food pyramid concept to investments? Here's Meb Faber's Investment Pyramid (NGPF podcast guest too!):

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.